MONITORING (SW) – The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies says more than 60,000 families, including 200,000 people, have been affected by the recent quake in southeastern Afghanistan, including 40 percent children.
The IFRCRS said in a report that the continuous rains in the affected provinces have hampered search and rescue efforts and increased the threat of subsequent events such as landslides and floods.
The IFRCRS added that local officials in the Islamic Emirate estimated that at least 1,000 people had been killed and thousands injured in the quake, and that about 2,000 homes had been destroyed.
According to the federation, this situation has occurred at a time when Afghanistan is facing a humanitarian crisis where more than 50% of the population needs immediate humanitarian assistance.
In the aftermath of the earthquake in Paktika and Khost provinces, local and foreign aid agencies announced their readiness to help the injured.
Afghan Red Crescent Society officials now say the victims of the Paktika and Khost earthquakes are in need of cash assistance, while aid agencies have turned to non-cash assistance.
“The need for food and non-food items is less, now cash must be provided so that people can meet their needs,” Noureddine Torabi, deputy head of the Afghan Red Crescent Society, told a news conference in Kabul today.
According to officials, more than 1,000 people were killed and more than 2,000 injured in last morning’s quake. 10,000 houses were also destroyed in the incident.
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